2012 Tea Party Patriots Presidential Survey

Jan 26, 2012

The Tea Party Patriots sent a survey to all the campaigns of all the GOP Presidential Candidates. We will post the responses as we get them. The first response we have received is from Rep. Ron Paul’s Presidential Campaign.

Will you support complete repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?

Yes. One of my first acts as President will be to order all federal agencies to immediately cease enforcement of the unconstitutional national health care law. I will veto any bill that funds the national health care law, and I will work with Congress to completely repeal it.

Will you scale back aggressively, or abolish, federal agencies and departments that have failed, are unconstitutional, or otherwise outlived their usefulness? If yes, which ones?

Yes. My Plan to Restore America eliminates five cabinet agencies in the first year of my presidency – Education, HUD, Energy, Interior, and Commerce – and rolls back all other federal spending to Fiscal Year 2006 levels.

Will you act immediately to bring down the national debt without raising taxes, and continue reducing debt to below the 2006 level?

Yes. My Plan to Restore America permanently extends all of the Bush-era tax cuts – including permanently repealing the estate (death) tax – and it balances the budget by the third year of my administration.

Will you act immediately to remove the US from the UN, NATO and NAFTA, and set a goal in your term to remove the UN complex from US soil?

Yes. I have always supported getting the US out of the UN and vice versa. As President, I will never compromise America’s sovereignty, put American troops under foreign command, or allow international bureaucrats to have any say over our economy.

Will you refuse to sign any agreement, protocol, plan or treaty that is based on the premise that the US contributes measurably to global warming or climate change?

Yes. I am skeptical of the “science” behind global warming, and I do not believe this justifies new restrictions on our liberty, such as the Cap and Trade scheme.

Would you work to reform the tax code? If, yes, would you support repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment?

Yes. I support lowering taxes, eliminating the income tax, and repealing the 16th amendment.

Will you repeal current executive orders that place unconstitutional burdens and/or restrictions on individual and state rights? If yes, which ones?

I will repeal all Executive orders that infringe in any way on the 9th and 10th amendments or overstep the President’s constitutional limits.

Will you support a full audit, repeated annually thereafter, of the Federal Reserve Bank, and publish the full results online?

Yes. For years, I have been the leading advocate in Congress for a full audit of the Federal Reserve. I have continued that fight in this current session of Congress by reintroducing my Audit the Fed bill (which has almost 200 cosponsors), and, as President, I will stay at the forefront of the battle to hold the Fed accountable.

Will you require the entire executive branch to comply with standard transparency laws (“sunshine laws”), implement proactive disclosure, including full compliance with all FOIA requests?

Yes. I will repeal all executive orders and fight other federal policies that are inconsistent with maximum transparency in government.

Do you believe that government creates jobs efficiently?

No. The federal government cannot create good, productive jobs that meet the needs and wants of the people. This function can only be served by the free market.

Will you agree to enforce existing immigration law while seeking to streamline the naturalization process? If yes, what will you do immediately to secure our borders?

Yes. I will work to strengthen border enforcement and end welfare benefits to non-citizens, while reforming our immigration system to make it easier for those who wish to come here legally and build a better life for themselves and their families.

Do you believe that the Constitution is a living document to be interpreted by each successive administration?

No. The Constitution has a clear meaning that places very strict limits on the powers of the federal government. To borrow from Thomas Jefferson, I will work to bind down the government with the chains of its founding document.

Will you set a goal to dismantle within your first year excessive regulation that discourages: (a) development of hydroelectric and nuclear power, (b) domestic oil, coal, shale and natural gas exploration and development? If yes, which regulations would you target?

Yes. I would seek to eliminate all regulations that interfere with the development of energy sources, including those limiting where drilling can occur – such as those prohibiting drilling in ANWR.

Is a Balanced Budget Amendment an approach to fiscal responsibility that you would support? If yes, what are the key elements of a Balanced Budget Amendment that you would support?

I would support a Balanced Budget Amendment as long as it contained limitations on taxes. Otherwise, an amendment may be used as an excuse for large tax increases in the future.

Essay Questions:

What is the meaning and scope of the “Commerce Clause” of the Constitution?

The Commerce Clause is designed to facilitate free trade among the states, not to give the federal government regulatory authority over our economic and personal lives. As President, I will stop federal agencies from using the Commerce Clause as a justification for imposing regulations on the states and the people, and I will veto any legislation rooted in an improper understanding of the Commerce Clause. I will also work to repeal unconstitutional laws, such as the national health care law and the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

What is the proper size and scope of the federal government, and how would you achieve that level?

The proper size and scope of government is outlined in the Constitution, which does not give the federal government power to run the economy, control our lives, or police the world. As President, my goal would be to return the government back to its constitutional limits. The first step will be working with Congress to pass my Plan to Restore America, which cuts $1 trillion from the federal budget in the first year of my presidency. The plan does this by eliminating four unconstitutional cabinet departments -Education, Energy, Commerce, HUD, and Interior – reducing our overseas commitments, ending all foreign aid, and rolling back all other spending to Fiscal Year 2006 levels. I will then insist on serious reductions in the federal budget every year of my presidency and will work to shut down unconstitutional agencies and programs.

What will you do to reform entitlement programs to end unfunded mandates on current and future citizens and states?

I will veto any legislation imposing new unfunded mandates on states, local governments, private businesses, or individuals. My Plan to Restore America begins to unwind the federal government from entitlement programs in a manner that does not harm those currently reliant on them by block-granting Medicaid to the states and using some of the savings from my $1 trillion in cuts to shore up Social Security and Medicare. My plan also allows people under 25 to opt-out of the Social Security system by agreeing to never request benefits from the system in exchange for never paying payroll taxes. My hope is to allow every citizen to opt-out of Social Security and Medicare over time and to phase out all transfer and entitlement programs – returning responsibility for caring for those in need to states, localities, and private and faith-based charities. Relying on local and private charitable efforts, instead of on a centralized welfare bureaucracy, is not only consistent with the Constitution and the philosophy of liberty, but it is the most efficient way of providing compassionate help to those in need.

What are the first three actions you will take to facilitate or encourage job creation in the private sector?

My Plan to Restore America not only cuts spending by a trillion dollars in the first year, but it has several components designated to encourage job creation by reining in the regulatory state, including:

1. Ordering all federal agencies to stop enforcing the national health care law, Sarbanes-Oxley, and Dodd-Frank.
2. Placing a moratorium on all new federal regulations and beginning to shrink the Federal Register.
3. Permanently extending the Bush-era tax cuts, lowering the corporate rate to 15%, allowing American companies to repatriate capital without additional taxation, ending all taxes on personal savings, and